Brooks could have turned this around but got screwed by the administration. Everything about the football program was woefully inadequate if not embarrassing. The facilities were 1950’s. The Shively center was a joke. UK came around to an extent but Brooks had already said adios. Had UK committed to him, the football program may have a different legacy.
Expectations for the upcoming football season
- Thread starter KYAnywhereEverywhere
- Start date
5 wins would show zero improvement, slightly tougher schedule or not that would be a failure. I believe stein wins 7 at least, he brings a winning mentality and has done a great job recruiting. We didn’t fire Stoops to not improve immediately, if fans are okay with winning only 5 again then expectations are way too low.
I think Stein will get there for sure. People need to give him time. Don’t forget Rich Brooks first year, he brought back a haul from the previous Guy Morriss team that went 7-5 and he struggled in year one. It took some time. Stein is a new head coach and we should exercise patience IMO
That’s your opinion. I don’t believe I’m wrong at all.
At this time one year Stoops had the number 1 class. We just have early commits.
If memory serves me last I checked we had 3 four stars and 9 three stars. That’s not gonna be anywhere in the top 20 when it all shakes out.
Check back with me at the end of the cycle. We most likely will be where we always are. 10-12 in the conference
I know Stein got here late last year. His portal class ranked 9th. Stoops last 2 portal classes ranked 6th and 13th. Riight about average with Stein.
Kentucky never has, or never will recruit football with the national elite. We expect basketball to do it every year.
Different expectations.
The entire purpose of my post wasn’t to argue football recruiting. It’s that we are not recruiting with the big boys in football or basketball. I think that’s because our NIL structure sucks under Barnhart sweetheart kickback deal with JMI.
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First, he had more than one off-season. Second, he brought a huge chunk of his roster from his previous stop which was a top 15-25 team. Third they had incredible financial support which allowed them to buy, among others, the top qb in the portal who is now the top overall nfl pick.
I love cignetti and think he's amazing. However the myth behind that turnaround has just grown way out of control. He was the catalyst but it was a perfect storm of everything.
Agree with this perspective and I will throw out my guess for this coming year, 8-4.
I can expand on the rationale later but to put it short - UK football has experienced the complete positive overhaul zenith many of us have been clamoring for since that December night after we routed UL for what seemed like the 100th time in a row (the night we were hearing about Stoops to TAM and then fizzle).
At that point, I could see the hot air balloon starting to lose altitude absurdly fast and with, my enthusiasm. The NIL/TP landscape has made it easier for teams like us to greatly improve while traditional cheating teams fade (see Florida State of late).
Not saying we will blueprint IU's success the last two years - but I will say I have changed my attitude with WS and company on board to the point where I renewed my seats after swearing off UK football during the SC game two years ago. Looking forward to it!
Stick to basketball...oh wait, you're clueless there too. It would depend on how the team looked in those 5 wins AND the 7 losses. Were they competitive or blown out? Did they appear to be prepared or not? You get the idea (well you probably don't but 5 wins can still be considered vast improvement). In 7 losses last year, we weren't remotely competitive in 5 of them. And the last 2 the team just completely quit. Stick to terrible basketball takes
Indiana had a fairly easy schedule his first year & he brought a “system“ & “team“ with him.
Ky 2026 is starting from scratch. But what a great optimistic start.Go 5-7 but be in every game after 3/4 & it’s a great season. Stoops was a great asst coach with great assistants.We have great coaches in almost all sports.
Stein is a future BigTime coach, Can Ky keep him long term is the ??????
This is terrible. Your FIL sounds like a great fan. He hopes for effort and execution. In fb If they fall short, they tried and it's nice to win. Theres always next week.
Not sure what your asking from players but it sounds like your life's happiness is built on winning basketball games
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Anything more than 2 wins is a net positive because that’s all Stoops may have one this year.
That's a stupid and utterly pointless claim to make.
Soles was the only one I hated to see leave. Wonder what's happening with Wilcox? Said he is no longer on the roster
Showed the possibility but plausibility is a number of steps away and likely is still a huge uphill battle.
Locking onto an exception doesn't mean the rule is no longer an issue.
Maybe Cignetti is an incredible genius playing chess while everyone else is playing tic tac toe or checkers at best or was insanely fortunate and IU falls right back into the cellar.
A larger sample size than one is needed to identify any pattern.
He was never kicked off the team. He entered the portal and signed with Marshall , but not listed on their roster now. Super talented kid too. Its a shame